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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The issue with Cloud Computing

Max Charney

Staff Writer

Cloud computing, it is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. It is used by almost everyone, everyday. We all have something in Cloud, as it is informally called, and it is becoming more and more popular. Google Drive, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, are all examples of cloud computing. You can accesses theses things whenever you want, wherever you are. Major companies like Amazon, Google, IBM, Dell, HP, Cisco, and Intel have had massive investments in cloud computing. It is clear that cloud computing is becoming the future, but is it secure?

The problem with cloud computing is the security behind it, keeping your photos, videos, and documents safe from others. “When you don't own the network, it's open to the rest of the world, and you don't control the layers of the stack, the cloud - by definition - is more insecure than storing data on premises,” says Rajat Bhargava, co-founder of JumpCloud, a cloud security startup and we have already seen problems like this before. In August of 2014, a collection of about five hundred celebrity photos, mostly women and many of them containing nudity, were leaked from the iCloud. They were originally posted on the imageboard 4Chan, and from there spread across the internet to Reddit, and Imgur. These photos were obtained by a hacker, who had obtained the images by cracking iCloud usernames and passwords. Having weak passwords is a problem, but with cloud computing is a bigger problem.

But the issues with cloud computing is not only on the computer, it is also heavily used in the gaming industry. For anyone in the gaming industry, and plays video games regularly, you would know the word DLC (Downloadable Content). Basically, it is the release of extra content to a video game after its release. The consumer can download the content through the internet, and then becomes an extension to the previous game you already have. This is a huge benefit for the gaming industry, companies can continue adding more and more content to their games. Even years after it has been released. This is all well and good, but players now feel that this is leading gaming companies to become more greedy. A game could cost sixty dollars upfront, but not have very much content in it, but you can get more by paying for DLC. Which can cost the player anywhere upwards to twenty dollars.

So is there a solution for all of this? In terms of the gaming industry, it is complicated. Cloud computing is almost a blessing for the companies. But is taking a tole on the gamer’s wallets. The only solution to this is have faith in the company that is making the game you wish to buy. Hope that they do not give you half a game and then make you pay for the rest in DLC later on. Gamers have not hesitated to voice their opinion on this topic, and companies are learning from this. Take Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege for example, the game has an upcoming DLC that will be free to everyone. Because the DLC is free, Ubisoft, the company that made the game, will not have to worry about a split community. Grand Theft Auto V if four years old, but is still widely played by millions of people. Yet they have never asked their community to buy a DLC, it is given to the players for free too keep them playing to keep them coming back. To keep a strong and healthy community.This is one way to solve the issue, and as of now it seem to be the only way.

In the computer world, users that have stronger passwords are less likely for the privacy to be breached. Passwords should be long, full of uppercase and lowercase letters, along with numbers and symbols. Keeping things that are very valuable to users, like pictures, videos, and documents on a computer hard drive is safer. Also keeping files and folders on a thumbdrive is a smart as well. Companies can focus more management to cloud security, and also by not sending servers to the cloud. It is still a complicated matter with an clear future of where it will be heading, but it is here now, and we all use it. So we should be smart when we use it.